The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe
Advent Week II, Year C
06 December 2009

Baruch 5:1-9 /// Philippians 1:4-6.8-11 /// Luke 3:1-6


The Chinese have an interesting way of cursing with the wish “may you live in interesting times.”  According to a friend from Beijing whom I had consulted, “interesting times” among the Chinese mean facing a lot of lawsuits or falling into huge debts, getting sick or even death.

Are we not also living in “interesting times” as a nation?

Two weeks ago, more than 50 defenseless civilians, mostly women and journalists were brutally massacred in Maguindanao by suspects linked with local warlords, the Ampatuans; and, a week after that, our President “massacred” our sensibilities and values as a people when she shamelessly joined the race for congress in her hometown?!

My apologies for being political, but, I can’t help it as I prayed over today’s Gospel wherein St. Luke described the situation during the time of John the Baptizer’s preaching before the public ministry of Jesus Christ:

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. (Lk.3:1-2)

More than the intention of convincing us about the historicity of Jesus Christ who had truly existed in a particular period in Israel over 2000 years ago, St. Luke is also telling us something deeper in this passage related with our Advent Season:  the “interesting times” they were into similar with what we have now, of leaders in both politics and religion who are so blinded with power, fame, and wealth among other things!

Pontius Pilate, brothers Herod and Philip, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ampatuans, trapos and their dynasties….

Then, Annas and Caiaphas, the 22 priests who celebrated Mass for GMA, especially the homilist who likened the President to Jesus Christ in serving the people, plus, the many bishops close to Malacanang and trapos who refuse to speak against political dynasties…

They all match!!!

I am not trying to be funny, relatives and friends; truth is, I am angry and very sad with these news recently.

However, I also feel some joy within, with sparks of hope that our time is just as “interesting” during the time of Jesus Christ and of John the Baptizer before Him because as the Lord had said last Sunday, it is during these moments of trials and tribulations when He truly comes to us!  As I had told you last Sunday, hope is not about believing things could get better but a conviction deep inside that even if things get worst, there is always God faithfully by our side.  And that is what I wish to dwell more today: as the election fever gets high, expect the worst among our candidates and among us too to come in the open; hence, the need for more prayers on our part.

…the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.(Lk.1:2)

Advent as a season of “active waiting in hope” for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is also a time for us to receive, to welcome the word of God like John the Baptizer in our own wilderness.  Inasmuch as every coming of Jesus Christ is preceded by trials and tribulations, it is also prepared by receiving the word of God in the wilderness.  Each of us is called to become a John the Baptizer, the one who prepares the way of the Lord.

How?

First is to always welcome and receive the word of God.

When I was still actively teaching in our schools, I used to require all my students to always have a personal copy of the bible as I drilled into them daily the importance of praying the day’s Holy Scriptures:  first at night before retiring and immediately upon waking up the following morning.  In that way, the word of God comes always as the first and the last things in one’s mind and heart day in, day out.

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2Tim.3:16-17)

Since last year during the Year of St. Paul and into this Year for Priests, Pope Benedict XVI and most Bishops have been reminding us priests to always be “a man of the word of God”, to immerse ourselves into the word of God.  It is very tragic that quite often these days, most of us priests speak so much of so many other things and too little of the word of God, unlike our brother pastors in other denominations who are not only well-versed with the Scriptures but are actually winning new converts daily because of their proclamation of the word of God!

John the Baptizer spoke only the word of God that attracted so many people to listen to his preaching in the desert despite the difficulties of going there.  Most of all, John never used the word of God to his own advantage that when the people mistook him as being the Christ, he immediately corrected them, a far cry from what some of us priests do with the word of God today, twist and turn it to suit our needs.  Or pamper a patroness from Malacanang.

And that’s the second reason why during this season of Advent we must actively wait in hope for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ by listening to the word of God like John the Baptizer:  it clarifies everything in us, removing all sorts of blindness that may be afflicting us so that we would be more truthful with our selves and with others.

“Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.  No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.”(Heb.4:12-13)

When we welcome the word of God into our selves, it purifies us from all the impurities within us, removing our masks and insecurities, making us more sincere and humble which pave the way for us to truly experience God’s presence in us.  Indeed, Jesus as the Word becomes flesh and dwells in us!  He comes to us and most of all, we see Him!!!

Imagine how life could be more bearable for us, despite the many hardships we have to live with like sickness and old-age, disasters and calamities, and other problems if we are always guided by the word of God?  There would be lesser hatred, lesser misunderstanding, lesser crimes, lesser quarrels, lesser sins, lesser of all the evils because we are set free to love more, to help more, to understand more, to do more good things in life!

Recent unfolding of events in our country may be very depressing, aggravated by the personal problems we each bear on our shoulders that push us to cry in desperation for Jesus Christ to come quickly and rescue us.  But, the truth is, Jesus is already in our midst just like during the time of John the Baptizer while preaching in the wilderness.  We need to sustain that presence of Christ in us by always welcoming the word of God, “the one who began a good work in us may continue to complete it until the Second Coming.” (cf.Phil.1:6)

Pope Benedict XVI explains in his second encyclical “Spe Salvi” (“in hope we were saved”) how this virtue of hope is linked with the word of God, specifically with the Gospel, which enables us to bridge and live out the tension we spoke of last week about the here and not yet of Christ’s Second Coming:  “Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well. So now we can say: Christianity was not only “good news”—the communication of a hitherto unknown content. In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only “informative” but “performative”. That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known—it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. (stress mine)The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.”

AMEN!

fr. nicanor f. lalog ll
santissima trinidad parish
malolos city 3000
bulacan, philippines

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe

First Sunday of Advent, Year C

29 November 2009

Jeremiah 33:14-16 /// 1Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 /// Luke 21:25-28.34- 36

A catechist asked her Grade Four students what do the letters “R.I.P.” mean; finding no one who seem to know the answer, the catechist asked her students to simply guess.  That’s when a little boy raised his hand and defined ”R.I.P.” as “Return If Possible.”

Our Gospel account for this Sunday speaks about the return, or, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ at the end of time; it is the first component of the Season of Advent that we usher in today to start our new liturgical calendar.  This focus on Christ’s Second Coming or return will run until December 16 when we shift our sights on Christ’s First Coming more than 2000 years ago from December 17 to Christmas Eve.

Between these two comings is the present moment, the here and now, where Jesus also comes in our daily lives.  Such is the tension of Jesus Christ being here with us, but, not yet, because He’s coming again that we proclaim it daily in every Mass as the mystery of our faith:  “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again!”

This tension of the “here-and-now- but-not-yet” becomes more evident in our daily lives when tragedy strikes us or problems plague us.

Sorry for being silent these passed weeks… Aside from my toxic schedules, I have opted to be silent recently due to the ”Maguindanao Massacre” that made me feel so sad, very, very sad and even bad.  The sadness brings tears into my eyes every time I would watch the TV news and read the various reports of how those people, mostly women and journalists were killed and then buried.  There was always that cold feeling gushing through my spines later to be replaced with a rush of seething anger, terrible anger, that I sometimes wish I were not a priest so that I could say, or do, what’s really in me against the perpetrators of this heinous crime who must be neither humans nor animals but devils.  (Mga impakto!)

Sorry, but, maybe I felt this way because I was a journalist before…How could such a thing happened in this era, in this age supposedly marked with so much progress?  Most of all, as I prayed for this Sunday’s Gospel, all I felt was to search the sense and meaning of Advent in the Maguindanao Massacre.  Is there anything to wait for?  to hope for in this country of ours?

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy…and that day catch you by surprise.  Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Lk.21:34,36)

Jesus Christ had said it then and says it to us anew today that these horrible things would indeed happen; more killings, more calamities would certainly come but let us not be carried away by these trials and tribulations that we become like evil men.  Pray always and don’t be carried away by these evils.  Yes, it is easier said than done but, we have to persevere.

Advent is a season of “active waiting in hope” for Jesus Christ.

A lot often, we hate to wait because we always take waiting as empty; there is always that feeling that when we are waiting, there is nothing in us, with us.  “Wala pa ba?”  “Are we there yet?” are the questions we hear while waiting.

But, every waiting is never really empty because the very reason why we await someone or anything is because we have them already in our hearts, in our memories, in our experiences.  We await because we have had a foretaste of who’s to come or what to come.  We wait for our birthdays, for our paychecks, for our loved ones because we have had them all before even at least in our imaginations; we would never await them if we never knew them at all!

Yes, Christ is coming at the end of time that we do not know but we are awaiting for Him because He’s already here in our hearts as we experienced His love, His mercy, and His friendship.  Our waiting for Jesus is just like our waiting for our relatives and friends in distant places whom we do not see nor talk with but we are so sure we have them in our hearts or in our consciousness.  Same thing with our beloved departed ones whom we await in our dreams, in our sights, and in that final time; we may not see nor talk with them like those still alive but we know deep in our hearts, they are with us and, yet and yes, we are awaiting them.

As I prayed for the souls of those massacred in Maguindanao, I have realized that there is really no darkness in this world but only blindness among some men and women who are blinded with power, wealth, and fame.  They do all kinds of evil because they refuse to see the light of Jesus Christ, or whatever religion they follow.  Despite this tragic Maguindanao massacre, there is enough reason for us to wait and hope always for Jesus Christ; in fact, recent turn of events confirm that Jesus had never left us even in the Maguindanao massacre because some of the suspects have started telling the truth after their conscience bothered them so much.  That was Jesus coming and, thank God these suspects-turned- witnesses were not blinded like their masters!

Quite often, I often hear from some foreigners I have befriended or simply met that the Philippines is a paradise, a blessed country.  I believe them as I came to see other countries or hear stories from their lands.  But, still, why do they have better airports, better facilities, better services, better economies?  Maybe because many of us are blind in electing our leaders, most of whom are blinded with power, blinded with wealth, and blinded with fame.  Include us priests and bishops and nuns in the Church to the list of leaders blinded too by the devil.  And, on a personal level, if we examine the woes that befall us, could it be that what we have are not really darkness but our own blindness too?

Blinded people who refuse to see the light are most likely the most impatient and lazy ones too.  When we await someone or something, we are not passive nor idle; patient and persevering people who await are always active, doing something while waiting.  They are the creative ones who enjoy the sceneries of the trip as part of any destination.  Hence, the most fulfilled too!

This is the reason why St. Paul tells us in the second reading to always “conduct yourselves to please God” (1Thess.3:4) because Christ would surely return and blessed are those whom He finds doing good when He comes again.  That’s the reason why Jesus never gave us the date for His return so that we would keep on doing what is good as we await Him.  Idleness and laziness are always a hairline from sin and evil.

Last but not least, Advent is about the virtue of hope which is evoked in the first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah who lived during one of the most turbulent periods of Jewish history.  Things were not getting any better during his time and yet he kept on telling the people to hope and believe God’s promised salvation.

Hope is not believing things could get better like the weather or the economy or our health; that is optimism.  Hope is having that assurance deep inside us that as things get worst, there is always Jesus Christ who would never leave us nor abandon us to lead us into eternal life.  This is the reason why the Lord asks us to keep our eyes opened as these frightening things happen:  first, He would never abandon us and secondly, it is during these trying times when He truly comes.  In fact, those are the moments when Jesus is most closest with us although we often feel being left behind or abandoned.  Hold on and hope in Christ!

“But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (Lk.21:28)

As we experience so many hardships and trials as a nation and as individuals, this Season of Advent encourages us to forge on, to actively wait in hope for Christ’s Second Coming.  Things could get worst for us as a country or as individuals but we need not be frightened nor terrified because Jesus Christ is always with us and would be with us until the end, seeing more the fruits of our efforts to live in love than our sinfulness.

The moment we remove active waiting in hope for Christ’s coming, that’s the time we stop believing and loving in God and with others.  And that’s the time we begin destroying our selves and others not because of any darkness around us but due to blindness within us.

Remember, Jesus Christ comes first into our hearts.

He had already come.  And would surely come again because He’s already there in our hearts.  Amen.

fr. nicanor f. lalog II

santissima trinidad parish

malolos city 3000

bulacan, philippines

This is the booth of USC-KNN at One Cebu Expo Aug 2009 at Cebu International Convention Center.

JC Organic Farm Products Display, One Cebu Expo, Aug 2009. first rack on the left

JC Farm Products - Malunggay Powder available in 20g pack

JC Farm Products - Pure Coconut Vinegar, lemongrass and garlic flavor; chili and garlic; chili, garlic, lemongrass; and classic or plain

JC Organic Farm Products are available at the USC-KNN booth Unit G1, The Plaza, Parkmall, Mandaue City, Cebu.

USC-KNN group is joining the Grand Halad sa Kapamilya of ABS-CBN/dyab this Nov 28, 2009, saturday to be held at USC main campus.

Please watch out for USC-KNN participation in the Christmas Bazaar of  Southcrest School in Banilad, Cebu City, Dec 4-6, 2009

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe

Week XXIX, Year B

18 October 2009

Isaiah 53:10-11 /// Hebrews 4:14-16 /// Mark 10:35-45

We are fast approaching the end of our liturgical calendar with just six weeks remaining before we start the season of Advent, those four Sundays before Christmas.  And just like the days, today’s Gospel shows us Jesus Christ moving fast toward Jerusalem for His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.  In fact, Jesus had just made His third and final prediction of His Pasch in the preceding scene of this Sunday’s Gospel.

Unfortunately, His disciples have failed anew to grasp its full meaning that the brothers James and John requested Him that they may sit beside Him when He comes in His glory, one at His right and another at His left.  Worst, the other ten heard it that they became indignant with the brothers James and John because they also have their own vested interests!

Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.  But it shall not be so among you.  Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.  For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mk.10:42-45)

Imagine Jesus calling the 12 together before Him, full of love and understanding in the midst of their rivalries, His openness to the request of James and John as well as His fairness with the ten others.  He was very accommodating, allowing each of the 12 to be his true self no matter how silly they may be!  What Jesus had was purely His love and care for them, not patience nor resignation.

And that is exactly how the Lord deals with each of us today!  Never does He frown or ask us to shut up, nor snicker with our stupid requests and crazy ideas.  He simply waits lovingly for us to get a feel of His life and of Himself as we journey through life.

I could feel all these things from Jesus Christ because like the 12, I must confess that I could not also grasp fully yet the Lord’s brand of service and servanthood.

Yes, I am still searching for it, even grappling with it especially in these last five years of my 11 years of priesthood.  When I think of serving the Lord, I think of giving myself by preparing for my every celebration of the Mass, hearing the confessions of people even on ordinary days, visiting the sick, counselling the troubled and lonely, teaching my students, and praying always.

But, deep down inside me, I always feel these were not enough; something was still missing that whenever I would return home to our residence after a hard day’s, and even night’s, ministry and work serving Jesus among the poor or the sick or troubled, I felt I have not truly served at all.  This is especially true when I open the fridge, or turn on the TV, or simply lie on my bed with the air conditioner humming with its cold air.

Last Friday I felt Jesus giving me a glimpse of His kind of service after praying over this Sunday’s Gospel when I visited our Parish volunteers in the office, Ka Maring and Ka Luring.  They were showing me our photos taken during our enriching Marian pilgrimage last Monday that we decided to have another similar trip on December 09 to Intramuros and a Lenten “visita iglesia” either to Laguna de Bay area or Batangas on March 22 next year.

At first, I balked with the March 22 trip because that’s my 45th birthday!  But, I consented later and willingly gave up my tradition of silently celebrating my birthday with my family because I realized then an important aspect of being a servant of Christ which is daring to become dependent on others.

All my life even before my ordination, I have thought of service as doing and working alone and independently for Jesus Christ through His people; it was more of a one-way traffic for me because it is just me, and me alone, doing things for people.  As much as possible, I only ask help from God and not from people I serve because I don’t want being indebted with anyone.  I am the kind of person who tries my very best of standing on my own, who would rather give than receive, help than be helped to the extent that I would willingly bear every hardship and difficulty than rely on others. Admittedly, it was only last Friday while after praying and meeting our volunteers when I was able to admit that my kind of service was after all filled with pride and even arrogance to some degree.  I refused to be served by others because I have unconsciously separated myself from the genuine love being offered by others just like the rich young man last week in the Gospel.  I have failed to feel and experience the love being shared by others serving me that in the process, I have forgotten to put much love on my service too.

That Friday afternoon as I looked back on our recent Marian pilgrimage, I learned that to serve like Jesus Christ is not really about giving and doing but more of being; that a servant of the Lord is somebody who is one with the people and not detached from them, daring to become dependent than independent, allowing others to serve us too so that we could serve better in the process.

To depend on others does not necessarily mean to be served; it is more of relying on somebody in order to get a more realistic feel of how to truly serve. This is symbolism of the Suffering Servant in the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah:  Jesus indeed bore all our infirmities by offering His life as a ransom for many because He relied on the Father than on His own powers.  He could have avoided being crucified but did not do so in order to be one with us as our Priest according to the Letter to the Hebrews who went through every trial in life except sin; how could we be so afraid to ask His help if He Himself went through all our difficulties in life except sin?

Here we find the service of Jesus Christ more of being one with others unlike the Gentiles whose rulers lord over them.  Again, service is more about relationships based more on love and communion rather than position and ranks, power and authority.  During our pilgrimage, I pointed out to my parishioners the pre-Vatican II architecture of churches with long communion rails around the sanctuary:  its purpose was simply to separate the priests and the lay people.  Following Vatican II, church architecture went into semi- or circular lay-outs or designs that gravitate towards the altar to show the communion of the clergy and the faithful.  Sad to say until now in our country, we are still living in what the late Cardinal Dulles identified as “hierarchical model of the church” wherein authority of those above is the stress than the “communitarian- communio model” of fellowship of life, charity, and truth animated by the Holy Spirit through witnessing and dialogue.

Notice the kind of services being rendered by various organizations these past weeks in the aftermath of “Ondoy” and “Pepeng”— relief operations have sometimes turned into advertisements and worst even as propaganda and election-campaign or simply for “pogi points.”  The best measure of service, of being truly a servant of Jesus Christ is when after we have served others, they in turn serve us too not in exchange of what we have done to them but simply because our being one with others had come into a full circle of brothers and sisters living as one in Christ Jesus.  Hence, when we serve, we shatter all walls and differences that separate us from each other through ranks and positions and start living as one family, one community of believers just like when we celebrate the Holy Eucharist.

Amen.

fr. nicanor f.lalog II

santissima trinidad parish

malolos city 3000

bulacan, philippines

Vitamin and Mineral Content of Moringa Leaves

Fresh Leaves

Carotene (Vit. A)* 6.78 mg

Thiamin (B1)                         0.06 mg

Riboflavin (B2)                     0.05 mg

Niacin (B3)                              0.8 mg

Vitamin C                                220 mg

Calcium                                   440 mg

Calories                                     92 cal

Carbohydrates                     12.5 g

Copper                                       0.07 mg

Fat                                                 1.70 g

Fiber                                           0.90 g

Iron                                            0.85 mg

Magnesium                           42 mg

Phosphorus                           70 mg

Potassium                              259 mg

Protein                                     6.70 g

Zinc                                            0.16 mg

Dried Leaves

Carotene (Vit. A)* 18.9 mg

Thiamin (B1) 2.64 mg

Riboflavin (B2)                20.5 mg

Niacin (B3)                        8.2 mg

Vitamin C                        17.3 mg

Calcium                           2,003 mg

Calories                             205 cal

Carbohydrates            38.2 g

Copper 0.57 mg

Fat                                       g 2.3 g

Fiber                                 19.2 g

Iron                                 28.2 mg

Magnesium                 368 mg

Phosphorus                 204 mg

Potassium                   1,324 mg

Protein                              27.1g

Zinc                                 3.29 mg

*Figures shown for vitamin A are carotene content for fresh leaves and beta-carotene content for dried leaves.1, 5

Source:  treesforlife.org

Fresh Leaves

Gram for gram, fresh leaves contain about

4 times the Vitamin A of Carrots

7 times the Vitamin C of Oranges

4 times the Calcium of Milk

3 times the Potassium of Bananas

¾  the Iron of Spinach

2 times the Protein of Yogurt

Dried Leaves

Gram for gram, dried leaves contain about:

10 times the Vitamin A of Carrots

½ the Vitamin C of Oranges

17 times the Calcium of Milk

15 times the Potassium of Bananas

25 times the Iron of Spinach

9 times the Protein of Yogurt

Source:  treesforlife.org

Malunggay Capsule Procedure
To make food supplement in form of a capsule, powder the roasted malunggay leaves by using a kitchen food processor or blender.

Empty capsules can be bought from drug stores.

Fill-in the empty capsules manually with the powdered leaves.

If  mass production is desired, a capsuling machine can be used. It is recommended that in manual procedure, our hands should be sanitized with alcohol.

Place the filled-in capsules in amber bottles or any appropriate container.

Small transparent plastic bags can also be used as packaging materials for the malunggay capsule.
The finished product should be stored in a dry place or in a refrigerator, just ensure that your product is kept dried.

These malunggay capsules are now ready to be
taken orally as a natural food supplement.

source:  Bureau of Plants and Industry

Malunggay Tea   Making
For those who want to preserve their malunggay leaves, this kind of material can be processed into tea and food supplement in form of capsules. This processing technology is a way to preserve the harvested malunggay leaves. The Bureau of Plant Industry through its Malunggay Technical Team developed this technology to
be simple and economical.
Leaf Processing
A. Harvesting.

Harvest 2-3 young green compound leaves that show no signs of yellowing. Place collected leaves in a tray and transport them in a drying shade.
B. Sorting and Cleaning.

Immediately after harvest, clean and sort out the collected  leaves from unnecessary materials such as dust and other foreign particles.
C. Air-Drying.

Lay out the leaves on a clean sheet of paper for 2-3 days. Manila
paper, bond papers, and other similar materials can be used as the drying mat of the foliage. Do not sun dry for it would destroy Vitamins and minerals. Expect for the weight of leaves to decrease after drying. After the drying time, shake off the leaflets from the leaf petioles. The leaves will naturally fall-off or detach from the petiole.
D. Shaking in screen or basket.

Shake the dried leaves by using a 0.2-0.3cm fine mesh to remove leaf petiole that was shed out during the drying period. This
process will eliminate other unnecessary materials that were incorporated in the dried leaves during the drying period.
E. Pan Roasting.

It is recommended to roast the leaves to further reduce the
moisture and sanitize the leaf materials. This is done by constantly turning over the air dried leaves for 2-3 minutes the in a pan over a low fire. This process also l helps preserve the leaves and improve the tea’s flavor. Be careful not to overcook the leaves. Place the roasted leaves in a transparent plastic bag, tighten the bag and crush the bag until the leaflets are broken into tiny powder particles.
F. Storage.

Storage conditions affect Malunggay tea quality and flavor. As much as possible do not expose the material directly to sun and air. Pack and store the leaves in a cool, dry, dark place in air-tight containers like glass jars.

Brewed Malunggay Tea
To make a tea, place half a teaspoonful of crushed dried leaves of
malunggay in a tea bag. Empty tea bags can be bought from food processing stores or sometimes Chinese drug stores. Seal the bag using a mechanical sealer or  a small stapler.
Ingredients
1 malunggay tea bag
1 cup of hot water
Procedure
Bring the water to boiling point and add enough water to submerge the malunggay tea bags and let it sit for a few seconds before pouring out the water.

Add hot water and let the malunggay tea leaves steep for 1-3 minutes.

Brewed Malunggay Iced Tea
Ingredients
1 malunggay tea bag
1 cup/glass of water with ice
1 tsp sugar or honey
Procedure
Bring the water to boiling point and add enough water to submerge the malunggay tea leaves and let it sit for a few seconds before pouring out the water.
Add hot water and let the malunggay tea bag steep for 1-3 minutes.

Place unrefined sugar or honey into a second tea pot if desired. Pour the hot tea into the tea pot and stir.

Place ice in cups or glass and pour the hot tea into it.

Let the tea cool for a few minutes before drinking.

Add ice to have a cold drink.

source: bureau of plant and industry

USC-KNN joined the One Cebu Expo, held at the Cebu International Convention Center last August 2009.

USC KNN Booth at the One Cebu Expo, August 2009 - posted by: crisonthesidelines.wordpress.com

Here are the products I displayed at the Expo.  My company name is JC Organic Farm Products.

One of my products, Cristina's Malunggay Leaf Powder -JC Organic Farm Products - crisonthesidelines.wordpress.com

Chili and Garlic Flavor Pure Coconut Vinegar. Naturally Fermented for months, no chemicals added. Our vinegars are from Bae, Sibonga, Cebu - JC Organic Farm Products crisonthesidelines.wordpress.com

Lemongrass and Garlic Flavor Pure Coconut Vinegar. Naturally fermented for months, no chemicals added. Our vinegars are from Bae, Sibonga, Cebu JC Organic Farm Products crisonthesidelines.wordpress.com

Vermicompost JC Organic Farm Products crisonthesidelines.wordpress.com

And here are the other products displayed by my other team members

Dalaguete Pickled vegetables. made by Balud Women's Group in Dalaguete, Cebu

Sunshine Center recycled paper products made by special children.Sunshine Center is a special school catering to tiny tots and grown up special persons

FLACS probiotic health soap. Made by Mr. Norman Saluntao

Tassels and More, made by Ms. Genevieve Ferrater

10Karat gold jewelries and fashion accessories made by Victoria Alcover

It’s just so sad that there were no pictures of MBF Banana Flakes and Camote Flakes and the other Spektrum Native products and Fashion Accessories

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe

Week XXVIII, Year B

11 October 2009

Wisdom 7:7-11 /// Hebrews 4:12-13 /// Mark 10:17-30

I was so bothered yesterday morning as I left our parish for a meeting in Quezon City.

It was supposed to be a happy weekend for me as I had finally slept solid eight hours, the sun was shining brightly with a warmth so delightful, and, the night before, I received  some “pasalubong” from a parishioner consisting of a big Nescafe Gold, Arnott’s assorted cookies, Ferrerro chocolates, and some magazines from Down Under.

I felt so good yesterday morning that after praying, I opened my Facebook to thank Edith and family for the pasalubong as well as to look for TrueFaith’s song “Sumasarap ang Gising” at YouTube imagining at how I would savor the aroma of that coffee.

Just before I turned off my computer, I checked on my FB again and saw my former GMA7 News editor’s blog, Ding Gagelonia’s “At Midfield”:  he had updated his article “Philippines’ Season of Grief” into “Grief-upon-Grief” about the very sad plight of our brothers and sisters in Northern Luzon where almost 200 people have been reported killed or missing due to landslides in Benguet, thousands of families displaced in Ilocos Region, and 60% of Pangasinan under floodwater.

What bothered me so much was not really the news but the sense of detachment from our suffering brothers and sisters up North.  Yes, I have seen the news Friday night and checked on some friends, even discussed with Fr. Pablo of how we could send some of our relief goods.  How could I had easily forgotten them as I almost worshipped the sun, feasting on the abundant food and comforts I have?  How easily have I lost the enthusiasm in learning more, doing more about the victims of Pepeng because life had slowly crept back into normal here after Ondoy?

That was the thing that bothered me yesterday morning:  my apparent detachment from the plight of the people battered by Pepeng.

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing.  Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  At that statement his face fell, and went away sad, for he had many possessions. (Mk.10:21-22)

Focus on how Jesus Christ made a lot of non-verbal communications using His face in today’s Gospel:  He looked at the young man, looked around the people, and looked again to His disciples.  And every time Jesus would look at everyone, He was expressing His deep love!

Jesus not only spoke about His love for us—He makes us feel it so intensely in the same manner that a human face would show it!  Experts say that 80% of our communications are non-verbal and most often, we would rely on them than on the verbal ones.  And we know it so well that the face could not hide our feelings; there’s no way of keeping what’s true inside with our facial expressions.

To look, especially with love like Jesus Christ did to the young man,  is to establish a union, an attachment or connection leading to a oneness.  That was what Jesus tried to express to the young man who had unfortunately failed to feel or grasp fully.  The young man did not get it at all because he was so concerned with his wealth, with his possessions!  Clearly, it is not a sin to be rich; no passage in the Bible declares it so.  In fact, Jesus, as well as St. Paul and other saints, had many rich friends who helped them in their missions.  What is sinful, of which rich and poor people are often guilty of, is when money becomes our god, when everything revolves around it instead of having Jesus Christ as the center of our lives.

The tragedy of today’s Gospel is not that the young man refused to give up his wealth and other possessions which is indeed very difficult; what he had missed was the opportunity of being one with Jesus Christ!  Of truly loving God than material wealth!  He had forgotten that with Jesus, one can never go hungry because there is always enough bread for everyone; that one would always be up and moving because every sickness can be healed; and, most of all, everyone is most welcomed to be with Jesus because He does not look at our sins but more on our being beloved children of His Father.

The Lord is inviting us today for a more intimate relationship with Him that is why He looks at us filled with love.  He is not asking us to become beggars, go hungry nor naked.  Yes, we can keep our cars, our houses, our computers, our cellphones, or whatever— for as long as we are not enslaved to these material things.  That is what St. Ignatius of Loyola calls as “creative indifference” :  I would rather be sick than well, poor than rich, etc. wherein we are willing to let go of everything for God because He is our only and truest love.  When we love somebody, we only do and give them what they love even if we love doing or giving them with something else we personally like or love?  Why can’t we do it with God?

Jesus is not insisting Himself on us but simply invites us to love Him more because only Him could give us fulfillment in this life and hereafter.  It is Him who is personalized by Wisdom in the first reading because when we have Jesus in our hearts, we practically have everything:  “Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands.” (Wis.7:11)  Remember how King Solomon had the chance to ask anything from God but instead asked for Wisdom, the ability to know what is right and wrong that made God so happy and made him the wisest person on earth?

When we were about to graduate from Theology and soon to be ordained, some younger seminarians asked me what I considered as the most important thing I have learned or valued in my six years of seminary formation?  I was surprised that since then and until now, I have only valued one thing in my life:  “for every here and now, I may say Yes to You my God.”

I must confess that a lot often, I fail but somehow, despite my weaknesses, sinfulness, difficulties and shortcomings, I strive so hard to do God’s will at all times.

When I had my vacation in the US (2004) and Canada (2005), I seriously considered staying there for good.  But as I prayed and discerned, I felt God asking me to serve His flock here in the Philippines.  Some people told me I was crazy , even foolish at how I had wasted those opportunities that thousands of Filipinos die to hope for; but, that’s how it really was because I love Jesus Christ more than anyone and anything else that I came home!

Some priests often ask me why have I not asked for a new assignment, or even have a parish of my own considering that I am already qualified; some would even argue that I should leave the shadows of my rector, Fr. Pablo, so that I would “bloom” as a person and as a priest, insisting that we were ordained to serve the Church and not anyone.  Fact is, since my third year of being assigned in our school with Fr. Pablo and even these last three years in our Parish, I have always prayed to God, asking Him if I could move out to have a parish of my own.  And every year, except only last May, I have stopped asking God that question lest I get hit with a bolt of lightning for being so stupid not to hear Him, and most of all, feel Him as He consistently asked me to stay, stay, stay.

When I tell my friends the things I go through in my ministry, in my relationships with brother priests and the lay people in our assignment, they all tell me to move out, be on my own…but when I pray over it, I feel God telling me something else.  I have stayed on in my assignment with the same brother priests not because I am afraid  to be on my own but precisely because I love God above all…because He wants me to stay here, serve my parish and our school, and help my Rector.

I have realized in the last 15 years of my life in my prayers that what matters most is not what we do or what we have achieved but what we have become— and that is, being one with, and being like Jesus Christ.

That I love whom He loves.

That I forgive whom He forgives.

That I do what He does.

That I live the way He had lived here on earth.

When we pray the Sacred Scriptures, we realize that indeed “the word of God is living and effective, sharper than a two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Heb.4:12) because it strips us naked of every false projections and pretensions, convincing us deep down inside that nothing matters most in this life than our soul’s salvation.  Exactly like that  young man in the Gospel asking what good we must do to attain eternal life?  Like the Apostles, we are convinced too that it is impossible for us for to be saved but with Jesus Christ, it had become a reality already!

Today, Jesus Christ is not only speaking to us; He’s reaching out to us full of love.  See and feel His loving face in your hearts.  Be one with Him.  Remember the Gospel last week when He said “what God has joined together, no human being must separate”? (Mk.10:9)  It is not merely about divorcing a husband nor a wife but most of all, divorcing ourselves from God.  Anyone separated from God loses everything in this life and hereafter.

Today/tonight as we head home with a lot of smiles in our hearts and faces, let’s see the face of Christ among our suffering brothers and sisters up north.  If we are truly one with Jesus Christ, we would be willing to share and give unto others our time, talents, and treasures.

Prayer by St. Therese of the Child Jesus: “My life is but an instant, an hour that passes by, a single day that slips my grasp and quickly slides away.  O well you know, my dearest God, to love you, I only have today.”

God bless!

fr. nicanor f. lalog II

santissima trinidad parish

malolos city 3000

bulacan, philippines